Growing up, like most kids, I ate prepackaged frozen foods, Hamburger Helper, cow milk and sugary cereals. I laughed at the word healthy. I didn’t need it. I was fine.

Then, while in college, somebody gave me the book Spontaneous Healing by Dr. Andrew Weil. After a lifetime of allergies and bad skin, I reconsidered my thoughts on health, read the book and shifted into action.

I ventured into a brief stint working in the nutritional field. The research I did was discouraging. Eggs are bad for you. Eggs are good for you. Don’t eat red meat. Eat red meat. Soy will cure this and cause that.

Information was conflicting and the studies were often conducted with business profits, not families, in mind.

There are, however, universal truths that have stood the test of time. These are some of the lifestyle and budget-friendly nutritional principles my family has adopted. I hope you are inspired to try a few for yourself!

1. Nursing

Nursing is an amazing bonding experience and the purest form of nutrition for a baby. It gets bonus points for being the most effective way to suck your uterus — and yourself — back into shape.

2. Make your own baby food

Once a week we throw fresh or frozen fruits and veggies into the Beaba Babycook. Make extra to freeze. It gets bonus points for being cheaper than its processed counterparts.

3. Eat less meat

Consider adopting a meat-free Monday and experiment with more vegetarian meals. High protein fads have lead to super-sized meat consumption, which has given rise to new, unsavory forms of factory farming. These days, animal protein often carries a host of hormones and antibiotics that have unknown health consequences. There are also significant environmental repercussions from the methane output. Additionally, the welfare of our modern day farmed friends has taken a backseat.

4. Time management

Be armed with healthy options for those times when you need something in a pinch! Reserve a few hours once a week to prepare snacks. Cut up veggies and put them into baggies, make fresh dips, stock dried fruits and flax crackers. And always make extra to freeze while cooking dinner.

I cannot stop raving about this book! If you have skin, weight or health issues of any kind, buy it quickly. My sensitive, hormonal skin cleared up beautifully in three weeks and I managed to get a significant amount of my pre-pregnancy energy and body back. My favorite recipes in the book are Ganesha’s Sweet Potatoes, Sally’s Salsa (I love it mixed into quinoa), and Raw Cacao Truffles.

6. Create family traditions

A movie and meal is definitely something my family enjoys, but can quickly turn into a daily habit. Fitting a few weekly traditions into the mix creates a wonderful bonding opportunity for your family.

On Sundays, James is famous for making gluten-free pancakes and Olivia helps stir the batter. (He and Olivia are sharing organic celery and cucumbers with an avocado and oat groats dip in the above photo.)

And once a week James and I make sure to have an at-home date night. We turn off the TV, turn on some music, cook together in the kitchen and light candles. After all the energy we put into our kids during the week, this fun respite is essential.

7. Encourage good decisions

Some of my blog readers shared their family health tips with me on my Facebook page. One of my favorites that I’ve adopted is giving Olivia the opportunity to make her own food decisions. If she’s going to snack on veggie sticks, we let her decide between a hummus or green bean dip. For breakfast we let her choose between a banana, avocado or pear. I love any opportunity to empower her individuality and encourage her to make healthy food decisions.

8. Start a garden

Something as easy as growing a few herbs in your window is a delicious way to add flavor to foods without all the heavy sauces and oils. Plus, kids have fun growing and cutting them. The wider the variety you can grow, the better. Eating minimally processed, whole foods is fundamental to good health.

9. Go dairy-free

Okay, there’s always a new fad out there. Right now it’s going dairy-free. That said, when we get back to the basics, our lactose tolerance naturally plummets around the age of five. And, unless you travel outside the U.S. or farm it yourself, the nutrients milk does offer are minimal due to pasteurization.

10. Take baby steps towards health

Completely altering the way you eat overnight can send your body into detox mode. That’s something that needs medical monitoring and is not a great idea for children and nursing mothers. Take one or two tips at a time and see what works for you and your family.

Please share some of your family health tips and meals with me below! Happy eating!

My children love smoothies….so in addition to fresh fruits such as strawberries, bananas, blueberries, etc….I also blend it with Greek yogurt and a little white grape or orange juice.

Then, to make it really healthy, I’ll add some minced carrot and a few spinach leaves….they never know ( though my daughter is not picky and would try just about anything) and I feel good mixing in those extra vitamins.

I’m having a very hard time with my 3 year old son lately….he’s been very picky and like I said, my daughter is not at all. He used to eat everything…and I cook very healthy, homemade meals. I’m hoping this is just a phase…. But its very frustrating.

Any suggestions? Kimberly, I love your tips here…

Ann
on April 27th, 2012

Instead of necessarily eating less meat, I try to be a “conscientious omnivore” (phrase stolen from here http://whole9life.com/category/conscientious-omnivore/), and get good quality meat. Not that eating a little less is necessarily bad, either, depending on how much one already eats.

I get lots of protein from eggs, and to make sure I eat enough protein and seafood, which is so beneficial, I’ve started trying to alternate cooking some type of seafood with some other type of animal protein (whether it be beef, bison, chicken, turkey, duck, elk, pork, whatever).

And I just try to eat “clean” — as little processed food as possible, and as little sugar and flour as possible. Gluten-free is great, but sometimes the substitutes are too processed and lack any nutrients compared to all the “real,” delicious food out there — there are so many more fruits and vegetables out there that I didn’t know about as a kid, or didn’t like because no one prepared them well….I’m slowly changing that!

dani
on April 27th, 2012

I have to say I read your blog and bought her book for my nook right away, can’t wait to start reading it tonight!

Shout out to James’ new series I have been raving about it since i first saw the episodes on Hulu.

Steph
on April 27th, 2012

This was very well written and I enjoyed reading it! I agree with her principles and I am going to try a few for my family! I look forward to reading more!

shannon
on April 27th, 2012

you are so beautiful, congrats to your family and i love reading your posts.

Karen
on April 27th, 2012

Nice blog!!! You can tell your daughter is gorgeous!!

Nicole
on April 27th, 2012

Another important principle is setting an early foundation of drinking pure water everyday. Water is such a vital component to nutrition. It helps to hydrate, energize, cleanse, detoxify, nourish, and heal. It also helps if the parents drink water everyday as children are very curious learners and easily mirror their surroundings.

Stephanie
on April 27th, 2012

I make fruit smoothies everyday using fresh fruits. My mom encourages me and my sister to to drink plenty water everyday and we stay away from takeout food quite often because you never know what is used to make the food.

Carrie
on April 27th, 2012

How adorable is that picture of James and Olivia??

sat
on April 27th, 2012

Thank you for the very do-able tips! Exposing kids to a variety of foods from an early age is a good method too. Limiting junk, or just eliminating it, is also good.

B.J. (the girl)
on April 27th, 2012

Aww, Olivia is adorable! I too enjoy James’ new show (and am currently living out the nightmare personally, so it helps me laugh it off a little).

look
on April 27th, 2012

Couldn’t get past the “advocates consciousness for the earth” part. Wow, things are getting weird down here.

CanadaLove
on April 27th, 2012

James is definitely the best part of “the B in 23.” He’s SO funny!

Jillian
on April 28th, 2012

I love your blog and look forward to it! We do so many of the things you mentioned. The one additional thing we do is the blood type diet, not religiously with all foods. But as a B, I can’t remember the last time I had chicken. After a few weeks of excluding that and peanuts from my diet I felt amazing!!!! We give our children many options, but they are healthy ones. They enjoy the occasional treat of junk food but always feel lousy afterwords. We will not go dairy free as I find too much value in it.

I am going to check out that book! Can’t wait for your next blog!
Mary

Anonymous
on April 28th, 2012

Such a great post with wonderful tips! Tip #4 is the biggest struggle for me at this point. I’m working on it! Thanks Kimberly!

Hen
on April 28th, 2012

More tips, some brand suggestions and alternatives PLEASE!! Great blog!! What do you use instead of milk? I don’t feel great about using soy all the time. I thought a ton of soy wasn’t safe. Ahh, you’re right it can get confusing, I’m going to invest in Dr Weil’s book.

Annie S.
on April 28th, 2012

I appreciate the effort anyone makes to ensure their family’s health, but I also get really frustrated reading misconceptions about dairy milk and meat being thrown around as fact. Pasteurization does not destroy nutrients in milk. Period. It removes bacteria and other pathogens – incidentally, the vast majority of milk-related illness is caused by raw milk consumption.

Second, there are no antibiotics in the meat you purchase, regardless of whether the animal was treated in life. All farmers are required to follow strict withdrawal guidelines, meaning that the antibiotic has passed through the animal’s system before it can be slaughtered for food.

As for hormones, every living thing produces hormones. Cabbage actually contains more hormones than beef. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with consuming meat in all forms, as long as it’s consumed in moderation (which should be a rule of thumb for all food, really).

Danielle
on April 28th, 2012

One of my favorite things to do is let my son “help” me cook. I found out he prefers veggies raw, and so whenever I am prepping our veggies I let him eat whatever he wants. He will usually not eat the cooked veggies while we are sitting to dinner then, but thats ok.

Sandy
on April 28th, 2012

Pasteurization absolutely DOES kill nutrients in milk. It also destroys the enzymes that help with digestion of milk. Raw milk is safe and the best way to healthfully enjoy milk products. If you know your farmer, your milk will be safe and healthy. Homogenization and pasteurization makes milk unhealthy. The only reason pasteurization is necessary for large factory farms is because the dirty way animals are kept and treated. Rest assured, raw milk from a small farm is the safest and healthiest way to consume real milk.

Annie S. It’s SAFE to know you have no knowledge of anything food related! You rattled off a bunch of stuff, trying to sound so intelligent, but in reality everything you said is WRONG.

It’s a pity you really believe slaughter houses follow such great strict guideline. Maybe you should go to netflix and watch some fun documentaries like Food Inc

And you obviously know nothing about milk. Pasteurization kills everything beneficial in milk, which is why so many people have milk issues and allergies..another great documentary would be Farmaggedon.

The only issues with raw milk is when it comes from unclean factories with unkept cows who are fed poor food choices. In reality, raw milk, from good cows in a good sterile environment is a great thing.

Please don’t act like a know it all if you know nothing at all!

Amanda
on April 28th, 2012

I’d really love to see some pics of Joshua!

Allie
on April 28th, 2012

As a single mom of 2 1/2 year old twin boys and being in Law School, quick, easy, and healthy meals are essential in my life. I take Sunday afternoons to cook for the week. I am all about budget friendly meals made of whole organic foods. I have meatless Mondays and vegan Thursday. I make my boys food, I do not believe in buying baby food or products, which are made for children. These products are over processed junk, and that includes the organic brands.

I have found that my boys go crazy for vegan quinoa and kale soup. I keep it whole for me and puree it for the boys. I make a huge pot of this on Sundays and my boys eat it for breakfast or lunch almost everyday along with a kiwi and basil puree. I have never given my boys any sort of breakfast cereals, we are dairy and soy free, but with the supervision of my pediatrician we drink almond milk. Warm almond milk, cooked Quinoa, blueberries with a little cinnamon is what my boys call cereal.

For lunches I usually prepare a whole organic turkey breast on Sunday, and make a homemade batch of hummus or olive tapenade, and 2 dozen hard boiled eggs( they keep a week in the fridge with the shells on). My boys usually eat a few ounces of turkey, a hard boiled egg white with either hummus or olive spread in the center, and some fresh fruit and veggies.

Dinners are always changing and new in my home. But once a week we eat a veggie fritatta, a vegan soup of some sort, and some sort of cold water fish. We do eat red meat, but it is organic and it is not something that is eaten often.

My boys are not picky eaters at all, and I stay away from anything that comes in a box, absolutely no juice, and the only type of bread we eat is sprouted bread or on occasion when my fantastic nanny makes homemade naan.

Since I am so busy I make my menu for the week and I go shopping with the boys. I let them pick the fruit and veggies they want, and their “snacks” and their snacks are dried fruit, freeze dried fruit or homemade apple and blueberry sauce.

As for desserts. I don’t want to deprive my children, but I also don’t want them to eat refined sugars.So I will slice fresh bananas into 1/2 slices and dip them into to melted organic dark chocolate and freeze them. I will do this strawberries, blueberries, and fresh coconut meat.
We have these treats once a week.

My boys drink water and almond milk, and on the occasion they drink herbal teas with me hot or iced.

Marky
on April 28th, 2012

Whoa, Sam, you just hit the “bully button”! There is no necessity to be hateful in a response and be as rude as you can to try to make your point. If you disagree with a post, do it nicely or don’t do it, and if I sound like a school-teacher, then so be it. There is a huge rash of “hateful” on this site, and it’s not necessary, period.

As far as raw milk being the only way to go, that is the opinion of some, and if you want to find someone to back up your opinion, you can. I’m pretty sure that if I wanted to state we would all be better off if we only had one leg, there would be some “researcher” out there that would back it up. Your references are quite extremist, and extremist sites aren’t the best way to go for either side of the argument.

As to the slaughterhouses, more than a third, and nearing half, of the slaughterhouses in the USA are designed and monitored by the world-reknown Dr.Temple Grandin, whose purpose is to make certain the cattle are raised and slaughtered in a humane way, and to provide a healthy and wholesome product to the market.

It is sensible to make certain you are careful about where you buy your meat, and dairy products. Not everyone is comfortable “eating raw only”, and no one needs to pound on those who don’t, or those who do.

I was raised on raw milk, as was my husband, and it’s great, but pasteurization and homogenization do not destroy everything good in milk. You can drink whatever you like, and that’s fine, but blanket generalizations may actually bring harm to those who have few, if any alternatives for vitamin D, calcium, etc, and who may not have the ability to take 40 supplements a day, or pay for those supplements. Most, however, can buy milk.

We need to be careful about calling other people names and acting as if their differing opinions, which may have just as much research to back it up as your opinion does, and just as valid. Civil discourse is much better than fury to make your point. Extremist literature and documentaries don’t really educate, they just make a lot of money for those who produce them, and cause rage where none is warranted. Don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about, I do. Like I said, I was raised on “raw”.

Sam
on April 28th, 2012

Whoa Marky who hit the ‘loser’ button. Why would someone try to school another on a celebrity gossip site? You seriously think waaaaaaay to highly of yourself.

Get a grip and a life :)

meghan
on April 28th, 2012

Get a grip and get a life, Sam? You’re the one bullying total strangers on a celebrity blog and writing long posts about nutrition. Everyone was pleasant on this thread until you turned up. And you want to call someone trying to keep the peace a loser? Feel good?

Holiday
on April 29th, 2012

My friends sister just died a month ago from ecoli due to drinking raw milk. She was 20 and in perfect health before. Raw milk has always scared me and now I will never drink it and will never give it to my children.

Marky
on April 29th, 2012

Sam, compare your comment and mine, and see who is angry, making broad sweeping statements about what is healthy and what is not, and perhaps you will see that I am calling for pleasant discourse, rather than venom and “everyone is stupid except me and the people who agree with me” statements. Increasingly, people are tired of being bullied, and yes, that’s what it is when you speak to someone as if they know nothing because they disagree. I have no interest in fighting with anyone over anything.

J
on April 29th, 2012

Some of you need to hit the “grow up and relax” button. Good God.

erica
on April 29th, 2012

I grew up with a mom who was a body builder turned personal trainer so I was raised on good, well-balanced meals. I never realized what a gift and honor it was to be raised that way until I met my husband whose mom raised him and his sisters on junk. Breaking him of his bad eating habits has been challening, but my kids will gladly choose a piece of fruit for a snack which makes me proud.

I work hard at doing balanced meals and avoiding gross stuff so it’s nice to see them make a good decision on their own. (they do get treats every now and again though) I will often give them options on what they would like to eat (pear, strawberries or banana?) and the only meal they don’t get a say in is lunch and dinner. (I am not a short-order cook.)

I try to sneak flax seed into anything that I can and I just made banana chocolate chip mini muffins yesterday that had shredded carrots, flax seed and dried mangoes added into the batter. My kids were none the wiser!

acorr
on April 29th, 2012

I’ve recently started drinking almond milk…vanilla, no added sugars and I love it.

Holiday, that is terrible, so sorry for your friend and her sister. Geez, you just never know.

Jillian
on April 30th, 2012

Holiday, I am so sorry to hear that :(

Marky, I am so confused by your posts. The other day, you posted what someone perceived as a rude comment and they told you so nicely. You were very rude back to them. Saying you can say what you want, and so on. Here you are telling Sam to stop doing exactly what you did and felt was acceptable!! I know I am not the only confused one bc others posted comments on that post along the same lines. Now I just see hypocrisy.

Mary

Holiday
on April 30th, 2012

I know raw milk can be more beneficial but to me the risks are too great. The dairy could be dirty and the milk contaminated which is what happened my friends sister. She was so into health food and ate only organic food and was fabulous shape but within a few days of contracting the ecoli she passed away due to multiple organ failure. She was in a coma first and then never woke up from it. So sad!

amw
on April 30th, 2012

nice blog entry kimberly. thanks for taking the time to be thoughtful. i was wondering, in response to your “make your own baby food” suggestion, if you have looked in to Baby-Led Weaning. its more than just a breastfeeding thing, it advocates giving babies whole foods from the start, nothing pureed. i think the movement started in the UK but has been taken hold of North America. it was wonderful for my daughter, and though she has lots of food sensitivities and is fairly picky, she is still a healthy eater, by and large, and i think the Baby-Led Weaning set her off on a great path.

congrats on the fam!

Concerned
on April 30th, 2012

Am I the only one who is concerned about celebrities who feel that they should also be our doctors? This person is not qualified to be offering nutritional advice. This is not fact-based information; this is opinion that has been clearly influenced by all of the other trendy topics on the internet. People.com, you should stick to celebrity photos and gossip and let qualified health professionals give health advice.

Amy
on April 30th, 2012

One of the great problems for parents today is that they are made to feel that if they control EVERYTHING for the children, they can’t possibly fail. There is ridiculous pressure for parents to cook the right food, buy the right clothes–choose the right preschool. It is crazy, and it isn’t true. No matter how actively you parent, how healthy you eat, etc., your kids will grow up fine. It feels like people have very little faith in themselves as parents if they need books and blogs to figure out everything. Parents need to listen to their hearts and their families, too.

Drinking raw milk is a crap shoot, perhaps you will be fine….perhaps not. Why chance it? I truly believe that feeding unpasteurized milk or juice is reckless.–especially for children who would be much more vulnerable to contaminants. Even cows from small, clean, farms, poop. Poop is a source of many pathogens for people. Why take a chance?

Try taking the 80/20 rule with your kids–because they will have to learn that life isn’t perfect, but we all try our best. 80% of the time, eat extremely healthy, 20% of the time–relax. Your kids will be fine, there is so much that you can’t control. Just love them and read to them, and you are halfway there.

Don’t believe the scare tactics that so many people are pushing about what kids should eat or not eat, do the best you can. Even the author of this blog, who ate processed foods, went on to birth two healthy children, and she seems to have a great life. Let go of the notion that all has to be perfect, you are setting yourself (and your kids) up for disappointment.

Rose
on April 30th, 2012

When my family eats traditional meat like beef/chicken/turkey, I use a local farm, where they are grass fed, and not mistreated, I usually ask the owners if they give steroids/anti-biotics/hormones and their answers determine if I purchase from them or not. Grass fed beef, is profoundly nutritious and high in omega’s and quite lean. We choose beef sparingly and living on the east coast have amazing access to fresh seafood.

Local and organic greens, fruits and vegetables are essential for our lives, and profoundly impact my son’s asthma for the better. We also live as processed-free as possible.

I can say that throughout my pregnancy and my son’s life, he’s never had a frozen dinner purchased in a supermarket, and none the worse for it. He loves grilled fish and turns his head away from french fries and cake. We splurge on ice pops, but also stray from food dyes and high fructose corn syrup.

Katie
on April 30th, 2012

I appreciate that she says that these are things her family is doing, and they are all great suggestions. Suggestions folks, she isn’t saying that if you don’t do all these things you are a horrible parent. Personally I have no desire to go dairy free, and she does say it’s a fad.

Like someone else said, all things in moderation, lots of fresh fruit, veggies and water and get your kids involved in what they’re eating. Keep processed foods to a minimum. These are things I strive for, but don’t always accomplish. My daughter is always picking out some new fruit or vegetable at the grocery store that she wants to try and picks salad over sweets most days.

meghan
on April 30th, 2012

Concerned, Kimberly is not claiming to be a doctor or expert. She’s just sharing her experiences and offering suggestions that any intelligent person can read up on and weigh the benefits of for themselves.

Kerry
on May 2nd, 2012

It is so important to instill healthy eating habits from in early age.

Question that maybe someone here knows….. I asked my children’s pediatrician about this but she seemed clueless :( But is soy milk or almond milk a good choice for my 4 and 2 year old boys? They really do not like cow’s milk at all…..

Susanna
on May 2nd, 2012

This is another example of unfounded advice form a celeb… not all of us can afford to sit around at home preparing fancy meals with unpronounceable names, much less get our picky kids to eat them! One thing I do agree with the writer about … There ARE many fads that come & go.. and this entire article is an example of one of them.

mimi
on May 2nd, 2012

as a non-american, i often find these diet debates fascinating, especially when it comes to “organic” fruits and vegetables. is the normal fresh produce so bad in the states that everyone thinks it is healthier to go organic? or is it to counter-act the horrible unnecessary extra sugars (and high fructose corn syrup) that seems to be added in big amounts to food/drinks (this happens in australia too but to a lesser extent)?

im not asking this to be snarky, im genuinely curious. in australia, some people advocate for organic (generally celebrities) but the general population seems to recognise it is “trendy” and a money maker because it’s so damn expensive and the normal fresh produce here is really good quality.

i agree with the comment of being concerned when celebrities dole out nutritional advice. clearly kimberly has her heart in the right place, but she’s openly admitting to advocating a “fad” (i.e. dairy-free) so that already diminishes a bit of credibility.

heather
on May 2nd, 2012

i agree with Concerned. the last place i would turn for advice on how to feed my kid is some celebrity’s wife.

Ashley
on May 2nd, 2012

This is one of the best “celebrity” blogs posts I’ve read on here. It was informative and simple enough to read for those who are new to eating healthy. Good job Kimberly!

sarah
on May 3rd, 2012

we have gone casein free. in the month since starting DS has shot up an inch, put on 3lbs and is so much nicer to be around. shout out to unsweetened coconut milk for filling in the gaps!

Kimberly
on May 3rd, 2012

It’s Kimberly Van Der Beek here. I’m glad so many of you were able to take some of the tips from my blog. I’m inspired by those of you that have such great systems and the others that are open to trying new ways. I’ve gotten some great snack ideas for my kids. :)

Many of your questions will be answered in the book I recommended. She address things like meat, dairy and gluten with lots of insightful information.

Holiday: How terrible! My condolences on your loss. Unfortunately ecoli has shown up in many foods from milk, to sprouts, to animal protein. I’ve become a bit crazy about washing all my fruits and veggies with a wash because of it. I’m sure you must be absolutely terrified of raw milk!

Concerned: I agree. Being a celebrity wife doesn’t qualify me to rattle off advice. That said, these are only suggestions – from a former nutritional advisor. ;) Yes, I was. My typical patient was somebody that was ill and needed to change their eating habits to compensate for the damage medications were doing to various organs like the liver, etc.

To all that are discussing raw milk. I am not advocating raw milk products – I am saying that pasteurization kills the nutrients milk does have. And still, I believe the nutrients raw milk has are more suitable for newborns to five year olds and in the form of breast milk. I personally wouldn’t trust raw dairy sources unless I was raising the animals myself. That said, I have some friends that have farms they choose to trust.

Does my family have the occasional ice cream or bit of cheese? Absolutely – but rarely. There have been many studies done (one of the more trusted ones was by Harvard several years back) that have shown the disadvantages. The calcium to magnesium ratio of milk is off and can leach calcium from our bones to create the proper ratio in our bodies. There are numerous reasons I believe dairy is not good for you or the best source of calcium for your body. Rather than delve into all the reasons, do a little research and see what is best for your family. These are my family’s nutritional principles and only suggestions for you to consider for your family.

Mimi: for your question, it is well documented the dangers of pesticides on fruits and vegetables that we eat. It can be rather expensive to buy all organic. The ones that are most affected are things such as cucumbers, berries, apples, pears and cucumbers. Robyn O’Brien (twitter.com/unhealthytruth) is constantly posting lots of studies being done on various food issues including this. You may enjoy following her.

Wishing you all healthy, happy eating and lives. You can send further questions to me here or on my Facebook page (link is in my bio).

Cat
on May 3rd, 2012

Kimberly,

Thanks for writing a blog that makes sense! I find the more I read nutition information and blogs the more confused I get. I think your approach to taking a tip or two at a time is wonderful. And I look forward to downloading and reading the book you recommended. I also appreciate your sharing your experiences and not making it sound like EVERYONE must do it your way. Your just giving people options that work for you and that might work for us too.

So thank you so much for that!

Anonymous
on May 3rd, 2012

I wouldn’t worry too much, just keep offering the same healthy choices you always have and he will come around. I swear my youngest started eating crayons and licking ashes from the fireplace at that age and would throw all of her food on the floor. She is a healthy 10 yr old that is not picky at all now and we continue to cook healthy from scratch almost every night.

mimi
on May 4th, 2012

thanks for your response. had no idea of your background in nutrition, so my apologies for being hasty in my “celeb judgement” of you. appreciate the links :)

Me
on May 5th, 2012

Anyone who advocates less meat and no dairy is a-ok in my book! No one, unless you’re a calf, should be drinking cow’s milk! I mean, think about it for a minute, people!!! It’s a cow’s BREASTMILK!!!! Meant for HER baby!!!! Not for you!!!! Why is it people think it’s ok to drink a COW’S milk, but not a HUMAN’S milk?! It’s just crazy!!

But if you feel you NEED to drink milk, go for soy, almond, hemp, rice, oat, or flax. All better for you than cow’s BREASTMILK!!

First of all, lets talk detoxes and cleanses. These wonderful little money pits are relatively new and absolutely worthless to the body as a whole. In fact they may actually harm you by disrupting your bodies natural flora and fauna.

Meat, be it red, white, or other is fine in moderation, and the effects of hormones and steroids is difficult to prove or disprove, but otherwise, try to buy grass-fed and not grain fed meat in general, as the animals themselves cannot digest grains properly causing bloat and general malaise.

Animal milk is another place where the animal should be grass-fed. Keep in mind that a milk cow will only produce milk when it is feeding young, after the calf train leaves cattle town, the poor ol cow is off to become a cheeseburger. The human body can digest milk, but usually only for those of European descent, as most other places lack the enzymes necessary to process it. One of those good ol’ products of evolution, since Europeans were generally the only people able to raise dairy cows full time were the ones who lived in areas that had a more temperate climate.

Raw milk though, not so great. It can’t be stored for long and has any number of unknown microscopic creepy crawlies swimming around in it. Pasteurization does not damage the nutritional value, however, in order for the body to use vitamin d, you need sunlight.

Marky
on May 11th, 2012

Mary Jillian, I said in one post that I thought people needed to be kinder and watch how they talked about others, and after a large number of posts which showed people couldn’t care less about even reading the article before unleashing a stream of insults, let alone be less rude to others, or toward the celebs involved, I let it all “get to me”, and said something rude myself.

I posted an apology after that, and have tried to not be rude to anyone since. I didn’t defend my right to be in any way hateful, because it is wrong, whether I do it or someone else does it. Explaining feelings is different from defending behavior.

This is a site devoted to celeb babies and families. If posters on here are as unforgiving to their families and children as they are to other posters, heaven help us all. When a person admits they did something inappropriate, what else do you want before it’s acceptable? I could understand the hypocrite remark if I not only said I could say whatever I wanted to, but then proceeded to do so again and again, while saying others should watch their tongue.

I don’t even give a thought to what someone said in previous posts, good bad or indifferent; why on earth are you so concerned with the one time I said something rude? I apologized, and now you don’t want to let it go? Wow, just Wow.

Jules
on May 17th, 2012

Kimberly,

What school did you go to? What is your degree in? Some credentials would be nice before you state that you are a nutritionist. I could not find any journal articles you have written.

Megan
on May 23rd, 2012

I am 24 and have no children, so I have NO idea about raising kids, but I absolutely love what Kimberley said about giving her daughter certain choices!! She gives her daughter choices within safe boundaries–“out of these pre-approved options, you can choose what you like, etc.” I honestly think allowing your kids to make choices within a safe, supervised environment is a GREAT way to teach both independence and good choices. I don’t know her, obviously, but this woman seems articulate, down-to-earth and intelligent. I LOVE when I meet levelheaded women who actually have common sense.

Angie
on May 27th, 2012

Most of this article is great advice. Except that a lot of it has to do with eating choices. And you’ve boiled them down to something they shouldn’t be boiled down to.

Lactose intolerance isn’t really THAT simple. It has a lot to do with genes and where someone’s ancestors are from and some people never become lactose intolerant because of that. (Pastoralists adapted so they could get the protein without killing their animals). It’s just too complicated to be cast aside in a few sentences.

I’m glad this all works for you but eating is a careful interplay of identity, culture and genetics. Before you make suggestions that everyone follow what works for you, consider looking at it from an anthropological perspective, not just a scientific one.